The majority of the materials in this collection are in English, with some materials in German and French.

Abstract:

This collection contains the literary papers of author, illustrator, and cartoonist Tomi Ungerer. Ungerer’s illustrations for children’s books, both his own and those of other authors, make up the bulk of the collection. The papers consist of notes, drafts, dummies, published volumes, sketches, illustrations, color separations, proofs, and promotional materials for published and unpublished works written between 1955 and 1974. Titles represented include
The Three Robbers,
Moon Man,
Crictor,
Flat Stanley, the
Mellops series, and
Adelaide, among others.

Tomi (Jean-Thomas) Ungerer was born in Strasbourg, France, on November 28, 1931. The Nazi occupation of Alsace during Ungerer’s childhood affected him deeply, leaving him with a strong aversion to war and fascism and a habit of questioning authority. After dropping out of school, Ungerer hitchhiked across Europe and briefly joined the Méharistes, or French Camel Corps, in Algeria. He then attended the École des Arts Decoratifs from 1953-1954 before resuming his travels, arriving in New York in 1956 with just $60 and a trunk full of manuscripts and drawings. Ungerer quickly found success, publishing his first children’s book,
The Mellops Go Flying, in 1957. The Mellops are an indomitable family of adventurous pigs whose stories Ungerer continued in
The Mellops Go Diving for Treasure (1957),
The Mellops Strike Oil (1958),
Christmas Eve at the Mellops (1960), and
The Mellops Go Spelunking (1963). His books
Crictor (1958) and
Emile (1960), about a helpful boa constrictor and octopus, respectively, display Ungerer’s fondness for depicting unlikely heroes. In
The Three Robbers (1962), a trio of menacing kidnappers are reformed by their contact with a plucky orphan and use all of their ill-gotten gains to found an orphanage. The subversive streak in Ungerer’s books is obvious in works like
Moon Man (1967), in which the man in the moon journeys to earth only to be persecuted by intolerant humans and must escape back to the moon in a rocket ship.

In addition to his own distinctive tales, Ungerer illustrated many works for children by other authors, including the classic
Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown. He also worked in advertising and the commercial arts and began publishing satirical works for adults. In the 1960s, he became increasingly involved in the civil rights and anti-Vietnam movements. In 1970, he and his third wife Yvonne Wright moved to Canada. After the publication of
Allumette and
A Storybook in 1974, Ungerer stopped writing children’s literature for twenty-five years. In 1976, he and his family moved to Ireland.

Ungerer returned to the world of children’s literature in 1998 with the publication of
Flix, the story of a cat family that unexpectedly gives birth to a dog, Flix, who grows up to bridge the two cultures and becomes mayor of both Cattown and Dogtown. Ungerer received numerous prizes for his work, including the
New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books of the Year for
The Three Robbers (1962),
The Beast of Monsieur Racine (1971), and
A Storybook from Tomi Ungerer (1974); the Society of Illustrators gold medal (1969); and the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for lifetime achievement (1998). The French government honored him several times, making him a Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres in 1985, a Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur in 1990, and awarding him the Grand Prix National des Arts Graphiques in 1995. In 2003, he was named Goodwill Ambassador for Childhood and Education by the European Council, and in 2007, the Musée Tomi Ungerer opened in Strasbourg with over 8,000 drawings and 1,500 published volumes donated from the artist’s personal collection.

This collection contains the literary papers of author, illustrator, and cartoonist Tomi Ungerer. Ungerer’s illustrations for children’s books, both his own and those of other authors, make up the bulk of the collection. The papers consist of notes, drafts, dummies, sketches, illustrations, color separations, mockups, proofs, and promotional materials for published and unpublished works written between 1955 and 1974. Thirty-eight titles are represented in the artworks and writings series. Coverage per title varies from just a few items for
Mr. Tall and Mr. Small, to extensive sketches, illustrations, dummies, color separations and proofs for the
Mellops series,
Crictor, and
Emile. Books written by other authors and illustrated by Ungerer include the classic
Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown and
Warwick’s Three Bottles by André Hodeir. Unpublished works include Ungerer’s first children’s book,
Der Sonntag der Saufamilie Schmutz, written before he came to the United States and featuring a family of pigs who would evolve into the Mellops. Other unpublished works in this collection include
Alfaro the Wheeled Pirate (also called
Melchior the One-Legged Pirate and
Kakahdoo the One-Legged Pirate),
Garby,
The Mellops Against the Kidnappers,
The Mellops Got a Car, and
Gundolf, the Heartless Boy. Pigs are a popular theme, appearing not just in the Mellops series but also in two unpublished collections,
Pigs Art and
Pigfolio. While artwork is sometimes accompanied by a short note from a publisher, this collection contains virtually no correspondence. Some materials have been annotated with short notes by Ungerer explaining their origin, date of creation, or eventual fate.

Promotional materials appear to have been collected by Carolyn W. Field, coordinator of the Office of Work with Children for the Free Library of Philadelphia from 1953 to 1983. Ms. Field was a well-regarded and energetic children’s librarian as well as an author and editor of children’s books. She was instrumental in arranging for the donation of this collection, and likely continued to add promotional materials related to Tomi Ungerer to the collection as opportunity allowed. Promotional materials include a mobile for
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, written by Barbara Hazen and illustrated by Ungerer; a
Classic Tales Illustrated calendar from 1971; Children’s Book Council materials promoting summer reading; and a small amount of assorted ephemera.

The processing of this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources’ “Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives” Project.

Access Restrictions:

This collection is open to researchers by appointment. Please contact the Curator for information on access.

Use Restrictions:

The right of access to material does not imply the right of publication. Permission for reprinting, reproduction, or extensive quotation from the rare books, manuscripts, prints, or drawings must be obtained through written application, stating the use to be made of the material. The reader bears the responsibility for any possible infringement of copyright laws in the publication of such material. A reproduction fee will be charged if the material is to be reproduced in a commercial publication.

Some of the materials in this collection may be too fragile for use without the Curator’s supervision.

Immediate Source of Acquisition:

The artwork and writings were the gift of Tomi Ungerer, 1968. Promotional materials were collected by Carolyn W. Field, coordinator of children's services at the Free Library of Philadelphia.

Final art for pages 16 and 17, marker and pen and ink on tracing paper, with printer's proof and text on layout board, 5 sheets

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Final art for page 18, marker and pen and ink on board, 1 sheet

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Final art for page 19, marker and pen and ink on board, 1 sheet

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Final art for pages 20 and 21, pen and ink and gray wash on board, 1 sheet

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Final art for pages 22 and 23, marker and pen and ink on paper, 1 sheet

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Final art for pages 24 and 25, pen and ink and gray wash on tracing paper, with printer's proof and text on layout board, 3 sheets

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Final art for pages 26 and 27, marker, pen and ink, and watercolor on paper, 1 sheet

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Final art for pages 28 and 29, collage of cut paper, pastel, pen and ink, and gray wash on paper, 1 sheet

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Final art for pages 32 and 33, marker, pen and ink, and gray wash on tracing paper, with printer's proof and text on layout board, 5 sheets

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Final art for pages 34 and 35, marker and pen and ink on board, 1 sheet

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Final art for pages 36 and 37, pen and ink and gray wash on tracing paper, with printer's proof and text on layout board, 3 sheets

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Final art for page 38, marker and pen and ink on paper, 1 sheet

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Final art for pages 40 and 41, pen and ink and gray wash on tracing paper, with printer's proof and text on layout board, 3 sheets

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Final art for pages 42 and 43, marker and pen and ink on paper, 1 sheet

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Final art for pages 44 and 45, pen and ink and gray wash on tracing paper, with printer's proof and text on layout board, 3 sheets

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The Mellops Against the Kidnappers, circa 1955-1968

Box

Folder

Manuscript outline and pen and ink illustrations, 6 pages

Includes a two-page outline of
The Mellops Against the Kidnappers and four pages of pen and ink illustrations. Other working titles for this work included
A Mellops is Pignapped and
The Mellops Have a Girl.

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The Mellops Go Diving for Treasure, 1957

Preliminary art

Many items have sketches on both the recto and verso.

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Sketch of octopus with treasure chest, pen and ink on paper

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Sketch of pigs in underwater submarine, blue pen and ink on paper

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Sketch of pigs in underwater submarine, pen and ink on paper

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Sketch of injured pig, crayon and pen and ink on paper

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Sketch of pig hanging from lamp post and a pig policeman, graphite on paper

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Sketch of pig as pirate, pen and ink on paper

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Sketch of pig as pirate with sword, pen and ink on paper

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Sketch of pigs in diving suits, graphite on paper

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Sketch of pigs building a submarine, pen and ink on paper

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Sketch of pigs in an amphibious vehicle, graphite on paper

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Sketch of pigs in boat heading to island, pen and ink on paper

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Sketch of pigs on raft, pen and ink on paper

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Preliminary art for page 3, pen and ink on paper

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Preliminary art for page 4, pen and ink and watercolor on paper

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Preliminary art for page 4, pen and ink on paper

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Preliminary art for page 6, pen and ink on paper

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Preliminary art for page 7, pen and ink on paper

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Preliminary art for page 8, pen and ink on paper

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Preliminary art for page 9, pen and ink on paper

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Preliminary art for page 10, pen and ink on paper

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Earliest version of preliminary art for page 12, pen and ink on paper

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Intermediate version of preliminary art for page 12, pen and ink on paper

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Latest version of preliminary art for page 12, pen and ink on paper

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Preliminary art for page 13, pen and ink on paper

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Preliminary art for page 14, pen and ink on paper

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Preliminary art for page 15, pen and ink on paper

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Preliminary art for page 17, pen and ink on paper

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Preliminary art for page 18, pen and ink on paper

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Preliminary art for page 19, pen and ink on paper

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Preliminary art for page 20, pen and ink on paper

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Preliminary art for page 23, pen and ink on paper

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Preliminary art for page 24, pen and ink on paper

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Preliminary art for page 26, pen and ink on paper

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Final art and color separations

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Final art for cover and page 1, pen and ink on paper, with blue and pink color separations, 4 sheets

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Final art for page 3, pen and ink on paper, with blue and pink color separations, 3 sheets

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Final art for page 4, pen and ink on paper, with blue color separations, 3 sheets

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Final art for page 5, pen and ink on paper, with blue color separations, 2 sheets

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Final art for page 6, pen and ink on paper, with blue and pink color separations, 3 sheets

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Final art for page 7, pen and ink on paper, with blue and pink color separations, 3 sheets

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Final art for page 8, pen and ink on paper, with blue and pink color separations, 3 sheets

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Final art for page 9, pen and ink on paper, with blue color separation, 2 sheets

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Final art for page 10, pen and ink on paper, with blue and pink color separations, 3 sheets

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Final art for page 11, pen and ink on paper, with blue and pink color separations, 3 sheets

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Final art for page 12, pen and ink on paper, with blue color separations, 3 sheets

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Final art for page 13, pen and ink on paper, with blue color separations, 3 sheets

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Final art for page 14, pen and ink on paper, with blue and pink color separations, 3 sheets

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Final art for page 15, pen and ink on paper, with blue and pink color separations, 4 sheets

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Final art for page 16, pen and ink on paper, with blue color separations, 5 sheets

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Final art for page 17, pen and ink on paper, with blue color separations, 3 sheets

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Final art for page 18, pen and ink on paper, with blue and pink color separations, 5 sheets

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Final art for page 19, pen and ink on paper, with blue and pink color separations, 4 sheets

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Final art for page 20, pen and ink on paper, with blue color separation, 2 sheets

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Final art for page 21, pen and ink on paper, with blue color separation, 2 sheets

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Final art for page 22, pen and ink on paper, with blue and pink color separations, 3 sheets

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Final art for page 23, pen and ink on paper, with blue and pink color separations, 3 sheets

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Final art for page 24, pen and ink on paper, with blue color separation, 2 sheets

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Final art for page 25, pen and ink on paper, with blue color separation, 2 sheets

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Final art for page 26, pen and ink on paper, with blue and pink color separations, 3 sheets

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Page 27, blue and pink color separations, 2 sheets

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Final art for page 28, pen and ink on paper, with blue color separation, 2 sheets

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Final art for page 29, pen and ink on paper, with blue color separation, 2 sheets

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Final art for page 30, pen and ink on paper, with blue and pink color separations, 3 sheets

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Final art for page 31, pen and ink on paper, with blue and pink color separations, 3 sheets

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Final art for page 32, pen and ink on paper, with blue color separations, 2 sheets

Includes a
New York Herald Tribune Children's Spring Book Festival honor book award medallion for
The Mellops Go Flying (1957), and a
New York Herald Tribune Children's Spring Book Festival prize book award medallion. Also includes the cover of a Harper Books' Fall 1966 children's literature catalog, and a call for entries to the American Institute of Graphic Arts' 1967 exhibition "Children's Books 1965/1966," both featuring illustrations by Tomi Ungerer.